Summer Festival 2024

What does the concept of empathy encompass, the first thematic focus of KunstRaum Goethestrasse xtd 2024? What does “understanding…” really mean?

The summer festival invited participants to discover the results of the various projects and to use the time spent together to explore empathy in a playful and creative way.

Results from workshops and projects such as “Does the Cat Understand Me?” as well as texts from the Writing Time group and musical contributions were presented, fostering a lively and stimulating exchange between project participants and visitors.

PRESENTATION IN THE EXHIBITION SPACE

“Does the Cat Understand Me?” explored the theme of empathy over several weeks. The results were presented in the form of models, drawings, audio, and video recordings. Many project participants engaged with cats and their individual characteristics, including those of the KunstRaum cats, and learned a great deal about them. The sketchbooks created for this purpose were filled with thoughts, images, and texts. These notes formed the basis in the second part of the project, taking everything into a different dimension. Models were built to get a little closer to the animals.

READING

The Writing Time group has dedicated itself to the theme of empathy in recent weeks and presented the resulting texts to the public. The Writing Time group is an open group of writers who meet every two weeks at KunstRaum Goethestrasse xtd. The methodological input, the moderation of the Writing Time sessions, and the coordination of the Writing Time group are all handled by the writers themselves. The author Lisa Spalt is invited occasionally to provide guidance and input.

“I can’t even describe how overjoyed I am that nine writers, so passionate about words, were willing to read their work publicly at the summer festival. We know that writing is hard work, and it’s always a labor of love, making writers vulnerable and susceptible to attack. Because the words come from the heart. That’s why it’s all the more gratifying and heartfelt when people choose to give a public reading.” (Monika Maria-Windtner, Coordinator of the Writing Time Group)

Thank you to the authors for their empathetic texts: T. Cissé-Ndaw, Gerti Dobetsberger, Barbara Koller, Susanne Müllner, Manuela Oberhamberger, Margit Schober, Erika Schwyhla, Monika-Maria Windtner

EMPATHY – CABINS. What do I understand without understanding?

Audio stations in the basement of KunstRaum Goethestrasse xtd invited visitors to listen to a selection of words in various languages. The task was to put what they heard on paper, to draw their associations, their “translations.” The drawings for each word were then compiled and presented.

Many thanks to everyone who engaged with the first theme of KunstRaum Goethestrasse xtd’s annual program—empathy—in these projects and are carrying it forward.

Thursday, June 6, 2024
KunstRaum Goethestrasse xtd

Thank you so much for coming in such large numbers!